SambaNova, a specialized AI chip startup founded in 2017, is strongly considering a U.S. IPO in 2027 after raising $1 billion in Series F financing at an $11 billion post-money valuation. The company's move reflects a broader shift in private-market investment, where significant capital is increasingly flowing into AI infrastructure rather than just the AI models themselves.

Why Is SambaNova Attracting Such Massive Investment?

SambaNova develops specialized AI chips, systems, and software focused on AI inference, the process of running trained AI models to generate responses and perform tasks. Unlike traditional approaches that rely heavily on graphics processing units (GPUs), SambaNova's fifth-generation Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU), called the SN50, is designed specifically for high-speed AI inference and large-scale agentic workloads. The company began previewing this technology in 2026, with broader availability planned for the second half of the year.

The company's technology is gaining traction among major enterprises. JPMorganChase recently selected SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner, planning to use the company's SN40L and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI inference. This deployment highlights growing enterprise demand for AI infrastructure that can operate within private data centers, particularly for organizations handling sensitive information.

What's Driving the Shift Toward AI Infrastructure Investment?

The Series F funding round, led by General Atlantic with significant investment from Seligman Ventures and T. Rowe Price Associates, reflects a fundamental change in how investors view AI. As AI adoption moves from experimentation to production, the focus is shifting from building the models themselves to building the infrastructure required to run them at scale. Capital is increasingly flowing into several key areas:

• AI chips and accelerators: Specialized hardware designed for specific AI workloads, like SambaNova's RDU technology.
• Data centers and AI cloud infrastructure: The physical and virtual infrastructure needed to house and operate AI systems at enterprise scale.
• Networking and memory: The supporting systems that enable fast data movement and processing.
• Power and energy infrastructure: The electrical systems required to support energy-intensive AI operations.
• Enterprise AI platforms: Software tools that help organizations deploy and manage AI applications.

SambaNova's $11 billion valuation demonstrates the level of institutional investment moving toward companies positioned in this infrastructure market. The company's latest financing came roughly five months after it raised $350 million in Series E financing alongside the launch of its SN50 AI chip.

How Is SambaNova Strengthening Its Market Position?

Beyond the funding round, SambaNova has expanded its strategic partnerships. In February 2026, the company announced a planned multi-year strategic collaboration with Intel focused on high-performance AI inference using Intel Xeon-based infrastructure. Intel Capital also participated in SambaNova's latest financing round. In April, the companies expanded the collaboration with an architecture combining GPUs for prefill, SambaNova RDUs for decoding, and Intel Xeon 6 processors for system orchestration and agentic workloads. This partnership gives SambaNova additional scale as it competes in a rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market.

"Continued momentum would most likely lead to SambaNova being public at some point," said Rodrigo Liang, CEO and co-founder of SambaNova.

Rodrigo Liang, CEO and co-founder, SambaNova

Liang made these comments at the RAISE Summit in Paris, where the company announced the first close of its latest financing round. However, the company has not announced a formal IPO filing or confirmed a listing date, meaning its plans could still change.

What Does This Mean for the Broader Private Markets?

SambaNova's trajectory illustrates a significant trend in technology investing. Companies are increasingly able to remain private through multiple large financing rounds, allowing substantial growth and valuation expansion to occur before an IPO. This means that significant technology investment and valuation growth are taking place in the private markets well before companies reach the public markets.

The company's potential IPO would represent another late-stage technology company reaching the public markets after raising substantial capital privately. SambaNova joins a growing group of late-stage AI companies that could eventually transition from private to public markets. With JPMorganChase deploying its technology, an expanding partnership with Intel, and management openly considering a 2027 U.S. IPO, SambaNova could become another significant private AI company to move toward the public markets.

For institutional and accredited investors, the shift matters because it creates new opportunities to participate in pre-IPO companies through secondary transactions and other private-market structures before a public listing occurs. As companies such as SambaNova raise significant institutional capital before reaching the public markets, the pre-IPO market continues to play a larger role in private-market investing.